New Endings and New Beginnings
by Locke Watcher
Summary: What would happen if Jon had summoned more then four demons to aid him in the final battle? What would happen to the survivors of that battle? What would happen to the Child of Bhaal if too many of his friends have died? Something like this.


New Endings and New Beginnings  
  
Chapter 1: Ending and Beginning  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own BGII: ToB. The character Locke is mine.  
  
Locke: Well, this fiction idea has been playing inside my head for a while, so I decided to finally write it.  
  
Yugi-Girl: That's good. Now why is Imeon not here?  
  
Locke: Because if she were here, she'd kill me faster then she killed Bodhi.  
  
-start of fiction-  
  
A strange looking man stood atop a hill, over looking a large river and the massive Elven forest that surrounds Suldanessellar. One look at the man and you will find his Elven ancestry, but another look and you will see two strange ridgelines from the top of his ears down to his jaw where it ends. Only those that study demons know that that marks him as a Teirling, a creature that has demonic blood flowing though his veins and arteries. But, not only does he possess the blood of humans, elves, and demons; he is also a Child of Bhaal, a child of the God of Murder. The very mix of blood that he has, has never been seen before, let alone heard of.  
The very strange man has stood on the hill at this exact moment for the last four weeks, honoring those that aided him to regain his divine soul. Honoring those that died fighting for him in the Abyss. He has avoided all callings to leave and continue his quest to contain his taint, all because he wishes to honor those that fell, and could never be buried. But today, the only other survivor of that battle came. He too, avoided the calling of his friend's quest for good, if only for a day or two.  
Signing, Locke said, "For what reason do you have Minsc, for following me here?"  
The said ranger replied with, "Boo was wondering, when are we going to the Forest of Destiny, so that we can continue our quest for Righteousness?"  
"Does Boo even mourn the loss of our friends? Does he mourn the loss of your Witch? Does he always do all your thinking? Does he..."  
Locke could not even finish his last question as Minsc grabs Locke by the throat and lift him up in the air, by a few feet. Locke, despite being strong enough to try to get out of the hold, does not offer any resistance. After a few minutes, and a few squeaks for the Miniature Giant Space Hamster, Minsc replies to Locke's questions, "Yes, Minsc and Boo mourn the loss of our friends. Yes, Minsc and Boo mourn the loss of our Witch! And YES, he does do all my thinking, and he says that I should not kill you for losing your will to continue the journey that we had set out to do!"  
"Good, if he mourns the loss of our friends, then he should understand why I have not felt anything BUT pain and loss! You and Boo should understand quite well!"  
"Boo mourns, but like Jarheira, he will not let the mourning stand in the way of a Righteous Butt-Kicking against Evil!"  
"Mind you, Jarheia died mourning for the loss of her husband, because of Gaxx's _Horror _spell! But, not only did she die during the battle, her body was then ripped to unrecoverable shreds by his _Force Missile_ spell!"  
"She died before the others, and yet, you mourn them more then you mourn her."  
"I'M MOURNING THEM ALL! TOO MANY OF OUR FRIENDS DIED BECAUSE I COULD NOT SAVE THEM! And one day, even you will die at my side and I will be left alone."  
The hamster started to squeak now, and Minsc translates with, "Boo says that you would die sooner then later, if you did not have Minsc and Boo and anyone else that would join us to aid you. Boo also says that you sound like you want to die, I do not believe him on this, but Boo does make a good point."  
'Damn rodent, and damned ranger! Do they not understand that by me always staying in one place, I'm protecting them! Hells, entire nation of Elves are protecting them, just because we are in their land!'  
It seems that Boo has the ability to read minds, seeing after a few more squeaks, Minsc says, "Boo says that the prophecy of Bhaal with come to us, even if we ARE protected by this nation of Elves. Boo says that the Elves will die and then we will die. And Boo says that your death will aid those that we fight against."  
As this was sinking into the brain of the Tierling, a female Elven Mage walks towards the two males. Normally, the ranger would bow to the Mage, seeing as how the said Mage is Queen Ellesime, but Minsc has his hands full and mind occupied. "The muddled ranger speaks true, we cannot protect you from the full force of the Prophecy of Bhaal. You must go soon, to the Forest of Destiny to find your place within it. If your place is here in my lands, then so be it. But I cannot allow you to stay for much longer, until you go. I know that this may seem unfair, not being able to mourn properly, but go you. Please understand and find your place."  
'Great, just GGGRREEAATTT!! First Minsc and Boo, now Ellesime! Next, if she were still alive, would be Imeon! And I think that I own that hamster a kick into the next week, because only he could plan all of this. Or is all of this a spur of the moment-type thing? No, Ellesime is talking from her heart, but also a que card. They arranged all of this, and it all worked!' With hands raised in defeat, made difficult seeing as Minsc is still holding the Child of Bhaal by the neck, "FINE!! Minsc and Boo and me will go to this Forest of Destiny!"  
Both the Ranger and Mage smiled, but the smiles quickly turn to open mouth after, "So, who did the planning for this?"

-sence change-  
  
The Teirling and human Ranger stood in front of a huge marble stone head that had many copies though out the Forest of Destiny. Both were thinking about what the stone head had just told them, though Minsc was thinking more so of the Evil that would die at the end of his sword or foot or what weapon that he had on him at the time.  
Both of them are decked out in full combat equipment that they and their dead friends found, brought, and salvaged throughout their quest to find and free Imeon and kill Jon Irencuis. Locke is wearing the Robes of Vence, a Mercy Killer Ring, a Ring of Wizardry, Boots of Speed, Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise, Girdle of Frost Giant Strength, and an Amulet of Power. His weapons are Celestial Fury and a Katana 3, for ranged combat he also carries Short Bow of Gasen. For Minsc, he wears Red Dragon Armor, a Ring of Protection 2, the Ring of Gaxx, Boots of Speed, Gauntlets of Extraordinary Specialization, Belt of Inertial Barrier, and an Amulet of Seldarine. For weapons: Sword of Chaos, Silver Sword, the bow Strong Arm, and Hangard's Axe. Both of them could easily kill a small army of anything that was a common pest for most people without a scratch, but they still carried a number of Potions of Healing.  
After memorizing what the marble head said, the pair went to a small ruin in the forest to set up a camp for the approaching night. As Locke had set down one defensive trap down, both Locke and Minsc heard the footsteps of three people; one set was relatively quiet compared to the two others. Locke finished setting his Spike Trap, and then he cast the spell of _Improved Invisibility_ on Minsc, hiding the silent Ranger from sight. Locke then cast upon himself the spell of _Firewall (Blue),_ hoping that the spell would protect him from the worst of the approaching trio. However, the trio now saw the cold flames of Locke's spell, because they stopped moving. 'Well, they know that we know that they are here, but they do not us and us them. Maybe I should have not used my _Wizard's Eye_ spell to scout out this forest, but then again; after that one attack on one of my camps, I would always prefer early scouting to being attacked in an ambush.'  
The trio of footsteps continued now, but on different paths. The heavier footsteps started to run and flank Locke, and the lighter just moved forward slowly on the original path. 'Not very smart of you, Lightfoot; you could have used your Heavy Foots to protect you, if your plan is to truly attack this camp.'  
As with dump luck or great planning, the trio of footsteps became a trio of a female Half Elf and two male Dwarves at the same time, forming a triangle that flanked Locke and Minsc. The Half Elf had on Elven Chain Mail, meaning to Locke that she is a Mage or a Bard with some impressive funds. But one look at the Dwarves made Locke change his mind about their gold; the Dwarves are wearing non-magical armor and carrying ordinary axes. After taking a combined look at them all, Locke just wanted to laugh, seeing as only one of them posed any threat to his physical well-being.  
The Half Elf started to talk, "So, I have found you at last."  
Locke, still trying not to laugh, "So, you have found me. So, what do you want with me?"  
"All you need to know is that I have been sent by those of far greater power, to kill you."  
"Others have said the same. They all lay dead at my hands and the hands of my friends. Who are you, my beautiful assassin?"  
The question made the Half Elf jump back in surprise. 'Apparently she has no idea of how beautiful she looks. I wonder she has ever received that comment before.'  
After a minute or two, she replied, "I am Illasrea the Quick, a Bhaalspawn that has not been wandering around Faerun like witless but charming cattle. And now it is time to for you to die!"  
Signing, Locke replied, "We shall see then, Beautiful."  
Illasrea started off her casting with a _Mirror Image_ spell, following with a _Monster Summoning I_. As soon as the three kobolds appeared, the two Dwarves attacked, only to have one of the Dwarves sliced in half by the now semi-visible Minsc. The other Dwarf charged at Locke, not knowing that a thrown Axe is heading his way, until it was too late. The Kobolds died quickly enough with Locke's _Chain Lighting_ spell that also took two of Illasrea's copies. With the death on both her Dwarves and her Kobolds, Illasrea charged Locke with a dagger in hand, knowing that she would die, but she would go down fighting. With Illasrea charging, Locke quickly cast the spell of _Time Stop_ followed by a _Dispel Magic_ pointed at Illasrea, the copies of her disappeared leaving her unprotected. Breathing a sign of annoyance, Locke walked up to Minsc and grabbed the throwing axe; Locke then walked over to Illasrea with it and chopped the axe down on her left leg. With out removing the axe, Locke walked in front of the Mage and disarmed her of her dagger, just in time as the spell ended. Illasrea fell forward into Locke's arm, and from the pain, the surprise, and the shock, Illasrea fainted.  
Minsc was about to say something about this; had not both him and Locke somehow fell backwards and into oblivion.

-sence change-

The field was set, the Mage Jon Irencuis had summoned an army of demons to aid him in the battle. He had summoned twenty demons and then transformed into a demon that looked far too much like Bhaal's Slayer avatar. Locke and his friends were ready, they knew that the time for the final battle against this Mage was at hand, and they were ready!  
Imeon and Tashia started the battle with two _Comet_ spells that killed eight of the demons, but the remaining twelve did not remain still. The demons attacked hard and fast! Imeon was ripped apart by a Baalor demon, while Tashia receive one of the demon's clawed fingers up her skirt. Once up, the finger stopped, then forced upwards until the tip of the claw emerged from her skull. How ever, the magic that Locke employed kicked in then. Locke quickly cast a _Dragon's Fire_ spell that tore though the ranks of demons, and at the same time Viconia's _Sunray_ finished off the most of the remaining demons. But it was too little, too late, as the four remaining demons and Jon massacred Locke's party. By this time Locke was flinging his magic and swords at all demons that dared approach him and Minsc and Aerie. But by the end of the battle, Jon had cast one last spell and it was _Force Missiles_ and its target was the critically wounded Aerie.  
All of this was playing inside Locke's mind as he slowly awoke, in what appeared to be the Abyss. Locke forced the memory of that fateful battle out of his mind for now, as he slowly got up on his feet. After getting a firm grip on reality and on the ground, Locke looked around that the Abyss that he, Minsc, and Illasrea were transported to. The walls were covered in statues of various people in various stages of nudity, sex, and pain, and the walls were made of rough rock and five opening that are covered with strange magical force fields. Next Locke noticed that this area of the Abyss had two very different inhabitants, a two-winged imp and a Deva that radiated the powers of goodness and justice.  
Even with his hold on reality, Locke had a hard time believing that he was standing in the Abyss, looking at what could only be Solar, and for once in four weeks not having the dead on his mind. If his hold were any weaker, Locke would have fainted again, once Solar started to talk to him.  
"Greeting, God child."  
Locke, failing to respond cause the Deva to conitune, "I am Solar, preferred Guardian of the Gods of good and neutral. And unwilling guardian of the Gods of evil. I have been sent here to test you; as for whom sent me here, even I do not know."  
"Greet.... Greetings Solar. I have no clue what to say to you... kinda understandable, yes?"  
"Yes. As I have said, I am here to test you now and then. I am to see if you are proven capable of controlling the powers that you are due, seeing as you will receive them regardless. If you prove that you are incapable of controlling your powers, then your life is forfeit."  
"........ I understand, greatest of all Devas. But what do you know of my powers?"  
"All will be dealt with in time. See you soon, God child." With that the Deva disappeared within a cone of golden light.  
After a few minutes, Minsc and Illasrea started to wake up. Once the two were on their feet, another bright light invaded the Abyssal plane. Emerging from the light was a shade that looked exactly like Sarevok, minus his divine armor and weapons. 'Great! First a Deva, now my dead twice brother! Are things going to get any better! Or worse!'  
  
-end of chapter-  
  
Locke: I finally finished the first chapter!  
  
Yugi-Girl: It did not take as long as you thought it would.  
  
Locke: No, but it is longer then planned. I planned on ending this chapter upon arrival at the Abyss.  
  
Yugi-Girl: Oh well.  
  
Imeon: Hey, what is going on here?  
  
Locke and Yugi-Girl: Uh-Oh! RUN! 


End file.
